Islamitische leiders roepen op snel te stoppen met fossiele brandstoffen

19 augustus 2015 – In de aanloop naar de klimaattop in Parijs, hebben islamitische leiders en geleerden de 1,6 miljard moslims uit de hele wereld opgeroepen in 2050 helemaal fossielvrij te zijn.

Onder aanvoering van de mufti’s van Libanon en Oeganda, stelden islamitische leiders en geleerden uit twintig verschillende landen de Islamic Declaration on Climate Change op. Dit gebeurde op het International Islamic Climate Change Symposium in Istanbul.

Uit een bericht van Islamic Relief, mede-organisator van het symposium
‘(…) Its aim is to raise awareness within the Muslim world on the dire impact of climate change and to call on the 1.6 billion Muslims around the world to realise the moral imperative of addressing climate change as part of their religious duty. (…)’

Uit een bericht van de Guardian
‘(…) “We particularly call on the well-off nations and oil-producing states to lead the way in phasing out their greenhouse gas emissions as early as possible and no later than the middle of the century,” it says.
Clear emissions reductions targets and monitoring systems should be agreed in Paris, the statement says, along with “generous financial and technical support” for poorer countries to help wean them off fossil fuels. (…)’

Uit de verklaring
‘(…) This current rate of climate change cannot be sustained, and the earth’s fine equilibrium (mīzān) may soon be lost. As we humans are woven into the fabric of the natural world, its gifts are for us to savour. But the same fossil fuels that helped us achieve most of the prosperity we see today are the main cause of climate change. Excessive pollution from fossil fuels threatens to destroy the gifts bestowed on us by God, whom we know as Allah – gifts such as a functioning climate, healthy air to breathe, regular seasons, and living oceans. But our attitude to these gifts has been short-sighted, and we have abused them. What will future generations say of us, who leave them a degraded planet as our legacy? How will we face our Lord and Creator? (…)’

De islamitische verklaring volgt op de encycliek waarin de paus waarschuwt voor klimaatverandering.  De eerste kritiek is dat niet alle Islamitische landen actief meewerkten aan de verklaring.

Uit een bericht van de BBC
‘(…) “Are all Islamic countries represented? I’d say no to that – that’s the honest answer,” said Fazlun Khalid [islamitische milieuactivist, betrokken bij het opstellen van de verklaring]. “There is a huge amount of lethargy – we are not set up like other churches, there is no Islamic pope! The Declaration is like a trigger – to say, wake up wherever you are, wake up and take care of the Earth.”

‘(…) “It is with great joy and in a spirit of solidarity that I express to you the promise of the Catholic Church to pray for the success of your initiative and her desire to work with you in the future to care for our common home and thus to glorify the God who created us,” said Cardinal Peter Turkson, who helped the Pope draft his encyclical. (…)’

Bronnen
The Guardian, 18 augustus 2015: Islamic leaders issue bold call for rapid phase out of fossil fuels
Islamic Relief, zonder datum: Islamic Climate Change Declaration
Nu.nl, 16 juni 2015: ‘Paus waarschuwt voor klimaatverandering in groene encycliek’
BBC, 18 augustus 2015: Islamic call on rich countries to end fossil fuel use
Islamic Declaration on Global Climate Change